We've all experienced it, especially those working in London and other major cities. Waking up early in the morning, heading to the nearest station and sitting (or more likely standing) on a train for ages, only to be told there are delays and cancellations. By the time you've got to work you are already exhausted and you've not even opened your emails. But there comes a time in many commuters' lives where the 'F' word is said and plans to quit start whirling around inside the head. Those round the world flights get searched for, Google maps gets a workout and the calculator comes out to start working out whether it can be afforded. That's right, that once in a lifetime trip seems to be coming to fruition. But taking that step can be scary. Here's how not to do it...

Ever wanted to drive across America in a camper van?

1. Don't.........just quitMany times a month we sit in our offices, getting more and more stressed, uptight and angry. At our work. At our bosses. At our colleagues. Desperate to jump up, throw down the phone and say those two words we have all dreamed of. "I quit". Sadly, it doesn't work like that, unless you don't need your job. By starting to plan and think about your big trip, researching destinations, gazing at photos, your body releases endorphins, which lift your mood. Just a little something to help you get through the day. Plus you need to plan any big trips financially, and you never know, you may end up coming back and wanting, yes WANTING your job back. Who knows?!

2. Don't.........start mouthing off because you think you're leavingAnother office blunder is once you start thinking about leaving to travel, talking openly about it with your colleagues. If you gently start putting ideas into your colleagues and managers' heads about you possibly, perhaps thinking about going travelling, it's not set in stone and allows you to back out if it turns out you aren't able to go for whatever reason. At the same time, if you are serious about quitting and taking that flight to some exotic, far-flung destination, gradually introducing the idea to people will allow you to subtly get their opinions and there won't be a sudden rush to find a replacement.

Quitting the rat race and going exploring around the world is a dream for many commuters

3. Don't.........think about the trip you want to go onWhether it's backpacking around Australia, driving a camper van across Europe or helping the vulnerable in Africa, think practically about what you want to see, where you want to go, how you are going to do it and, more importantly, how much it will cost. All too often we just want to quit our jobs and get on the next plane to anywhere, but if you don't have a rough idea of what you want to do, won't the trip be a bit pointless? Do your research and make sure you have a plan, at least to start with. Once you're out and about travelling, you'll be meeting new people left, right and centre and organising your next destination with them.

4. Don't.........plan for the futureIf you've quit your job, you probably might not know when you'll be back, however, thinking responsibly, it's always good to have a backup plan. Just in case you end up coming back sooner than you planned (highly unlikely). Discuss with your boss and HR department about the possibility of a sabbatical, or coming back in a year's time, or, dare I say it, working remotely? It's a dream for many and if they love you that much, they may just say yes.

5. Don't.........just head to the airport without a ticketIt's a dream of everyone's. Heading to the airport, passport in hand, backpack full, walking up to the ticket desk and asking for the next flight outta here. It would be lovely wouldn't it. It's better to plan your journey in advance and book your flights ahead of time too. If it's a round the world trip, many airlines offer round the world tickets, allowing you to stop in several destinations. If it's just the one country you will be exploring, have a changeable ticket for if you end up wanting to move on earlier or stay out longer than planned. You could always add a stopover on the return flight just for a little extra holiday before you come crashing back down to Earth with a bump.

If you're ready to pack up and leave, Stopovr.com has plenty of information to help you find the right destinations and airlines for your trip.

]]>Tue, 06 Jan 2015 21:42:16 GMThttp://www.stopovr.com/blog/january-sales-and-cheating-an-airlineAs we hurtle into 2015 (as we write this, we are almost a week in already), January for many airlines is THE peak booking season. Airlines launch extremely competitive fares at this time of year, like Dubai for £289 or New York from £336, and now is the time to be booking your next trip. As airlines slash prices, each one becomes more and more competitive. What's more, the hotels are doing it too and when you book your flight and hotel together, you can get even bigger discounts on package fares and hotel rates.

At the same time, it's very much worth shopping around for your flights and/or hotels, as different companies or travel agents are able to offer better discounts. Some get access to exclusive fares, whilst others get add-ons with hotel rates, like dinner included or spa treatments. This sort of thing is well worth looking around for. You'll have to check each agent individually for what's on offer in the various hotels.

In other news, just recently, a small company call Skiplagged were caught offering far cheaper flights to various destinations in the USA, by selling 1-stop tickets, but then passengers get off at the transit airport. For example, on a one way flight from New York to San Francisco, a direct flight may cost $350, however an indirect flight from New York to Los Angeles, via San Francisco might only be $250. Skiplagged were booking the second fare and the passenger would leave the airport in San Francisco having saved himself $100.

This has only worked with one way flights and where hand-luggage only was taken onboard (otherwise your luggage would go through to Los Angeles. However, now that this method of "cheating" the airlines has been exposed, the airlines are beginning to clamp down on these sorts of fares and we expect certain routes and destinations to have their fares altered, and not necessarily for the better.

We will just have to wait and see what happens with this one and see how airfares in 2015 will be affected.

]]>Sun, 28 Dec 2014 19:53:18 GMThttp://www.stopovr.com/blog/welcome-to-our-new-stopovrcom-blogSo it has come to the end of another year and we decided to create a blog as part of our site. We will talk about some of our favourite destinations and events that are taking place, some of our favourite offers from the various airlines and much more.

But first thing's first, when you look back on your 2014, can you honestly put your hand on your hard and say that you have achieved everything you wanted to. Have you been to places you said you would? Have you travelled as much as you were hoping you would have done. If the answer is yes, then great work. What's your secret? If it's no, then listen up. What are you going to do about it? We might only have another few days left of 2014 but there's still 365 days in 2015 that are ready to be used.

If you take weekends, bank holidays and your annual holidays into account, you've got over 130 days (that's more than one third of the year) free to do whatever you like with. What do you want to do with them? As part of our blog, we want to give some inspiration for how to utilise all those days out of work. From a long weekend in Iceland to a four month trip in Australia, we want to give you ideas and tips on how best to use all that free time in 2015.

So if you've been looking at flights to Australia or have been planning a long trip, there is no time like the present to get it booked. Airlines are having sales so get booking!]]>